Egyptian high court unblocks ban on islands transfer to Saudis

Egypt's Court of Urgent Matters ruled that a judicial decision to block the transfer of two Red Sea Islands to Saudi Arabia is void, a judicial source and a lawyer said Sunday. In January, a court rejected a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia after a maritime demarcation accord was announced in April, triggering protests by the Egyptian public who believe the islands are Egyptian. The transfer of the strategically valuable islands can now go ahead.